Scribe Music talks growth, goals and shares about his roots (Q&A)

Scribe Music talks growth, goals and shares about his roots (Q&A)

Adoption advocate, indie rapper and worship leader, we hear from Soccer standout-turned rising artist Scribe Music about his music career, gauging success, and the importance of keeping God first. Scribe found his way from sports glory and the party life to struggles and abandonment. He explains how that helped fuel what would become a budding rap career. You can listen to his most recent project Send Help, available on Spotify and iTunes.

New H2O: Your most recent project Send Help has been doing some incredible things in Canada. We try to keep our ear to the streets when we can. Since the project dropped, what kind of waves has God been creating for you and the project?

Scribe Music: It’s been wild: from the album I’ve received a whole new flock of listeners outside of my regular fan base. Surprisingly enough, outside of just church circles as well. It’s also earned me my 9th GMA Covenant Award nomination and allowed me to maintain my consistent booking schedule.

New H2O: What does it mean to have a consistent booking schedule? Why is that valuable to you as an artist at this point in your journey?

Scribe Music: A consistent schedule to me is to essentially set a booking goal per year, or month, and be able to make the right moves (Lord willing) to make them happen. What’s consistent to me, may not be considered consistent or sufficient to someone else.

At this point in my career, “consistency” is crucial. On one hand, in a saturated market such as the music industry, it’s easy to slink back into insignificance. Which brings me to the other side. Everything I do, is for the Lord. All that I can create and have accomplished is because of his favour. Stewarding these moments is imperative to recognizing that God could have chosen anybody in this moment in time. He gave me a message of hope found in Him, He allows me to use something I love, and I can’t let that go to waste.

NewH2O: Consistency is a common theme with artists and music around content creation these days. Outside of shows, what are other ways that you remain consistent and visible with your audience as the landscape and noise continues to grow? What are you doing so that Scribe can get the gospel to those listening?

Scribe Music: Outside of “Scribe Music” things specifically, I serve as a worship leader at my church, more often than not 2 to 3 Sundays a month. I’ve honestly found the more I serve my local church, the more rooted in my calling I remain. It’s easy to get caught up in all the lights and attention and forget why you do it in the first place. Apart from that, I speak as an advocate for the adopted kids and support to adopting families. All from the stance of the gospel and being chosen and spared by God for a purpose.

NewH2O: We are familiar with your mission and even your background, but could you share your origins as an artist and what led you into CHH specifically?

Scribe Music: In 2008, I was actually a University level soccer player in California with real potential to go further, had I not become so focused on the party life, coupled with an injury.

Soccer was my life and my god.

It was during the spring season when I couldn’t train that I started to realize how superficial and situational a lot of my friends were. While I was playing well and partying I was the man, now I was no one. It was here the Lord got ahold of me. I began writing down my frustrations and struggles through poetry, and at the prompting of random people, I began trying my hand at rap.

Buying beats from shadowville.com and recording videos via webcam. In 2010 I recorded my first song and it took off. In 2014 I started taking it [rap] seriously and recorded my first album, and began getting booked for solo shows more regularly. I had come to realize that my story had the potential to impact others and ultimately point them to the redemptive love of Jesus

NewH2O: Shadowville! The unsung hero of the independent artist game. When you say that you realized how superficial and situational your friends were, what does that mean exactly? What events do you remember that really revealed their intentions or the position they held in your life?

Scribe Music: Superficial relationships to me, are the kind that is simply based on current circumstance and aren’t deeply rooted by any means. The kind that as soon a situation is altered and no longer benefits one party or another, break up almost instantly.

For me it was when I could no longer play, all my friends and ‘some’ of my teammates no longer cared; I was no longer invited anywhere and ultimately tension and awkwardness began to present itself.

NewH2O: What does success look like for you at this stage in your career and what advice would you give to yourself 4-years ago? What kind of lessons have you learned?

Scribe Music: Success is relative to a person’s goals and expectations. The world wants to trick people into thinking success is about clout or a moment of notoriety. But I feel as though it’s far more personal than that. What are your goals as an artist? What do you want to see happen in your career? It looks different for everyone and I think people need to have a more realistic gauge and not get so envious about someone else’s position.

NewH2O: When you’re creating music, what is the trigger in your mind to let you know you’ve reached the end and this is the song/album that it needs to be?

Scribe Music: I know I’m at the end of an album when a sense of peace settles on it. When I can honestly admit this is the best body of work that I can put out right now. It’s a feeling of genuine excitement consistent with a host of “stank faces” lol. It’s nothing too deep. Like most artists, once you’ve completed your track list length and don’t feel like you’ve missed out on anything topically, it’s ready.